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Undergraduate Student

Paige Crane

Wildlife Conservation

Expected Graduation Date: May 2017

I grew up enjoying the outdoors on my family’s small farm just outside of Blacksburg. Now as a junior in wildlife conservation and a resident advisor in Hillcrest Hall, I am proud to be a member of the 2015-16 Leadership Institute. This program will allow me to develop greater self-awareness and communicate with leaders in natural resources. The Leadership Institute gives students the tools and encouragement to help realize and reach for our goals; gaining the confidence and ability to establish lasting professional connections will benefit me throughout my life. I am interested in endangered species management and sustainable agriculture and hope to receive my doctorate in conservation biology to study declining species and habitats.

For the past two years I have worked in the Wildlife Habitat and Population Analysis Lab under Dr. Marcella Kelly using mark-recapture statistics to estimate population size and density of big cat species, including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, lions, and leopardcats. For two months, I volunteered in Belize on thefield portion of Dr. Kelly’s projects and am very interested in doing research abroad. I am excited to see where my path takes me.